China has signed a $1.9B Alberta oil sands deal with the Calgary-based company Athabasca Oil Sands, making it the largest venture by China in the Canadian oilsands. China-based PetroChina International Investment Co. Ltd, which is Asia's largest oil company, is set to buy majority stakes in the privately-owned Athabasca Oil Sands Corporation for $1.9 billion under the deal.

Chief Executive and President of Athabasca Oil Sands, Sveinung Svarte said: "This deal shows that the biggest energy company in the world has chosen Athabasca as their partner. They clearly told us that's because they like our assets the best and, obviously, they (the oilsands) are the crude oil story."

The Calgary-based company said that project will cost around $15 billion to $20 billion. The development work at the fields may take time as the company is yet to get provincial approval for both projects.

MacKay River and Dover fields in Canada, holding about five billion barrels of oil, are currently under Canadian firm Athabasca Oil Sands. The oil field is the world's second-largest crude reserves, but it needs a large money and manpower to extract crude. Experts said that the oil extraction from the Canadian fields is only viable when crude prices remain above $80 a barrel.